


Glorious Thorns

by Weresnake



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Confusion, Eating Disorder (Mentioned), GUESS WHOS BACK, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, back again, booze mention, dave is back, dave makes friends which is sweet, drug mention, heavy convos, tell a friend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2019-11-27 06:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18191090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weresnake/pseuds/Weresnake
Summary: Dave wakes up in a cemetery and after wandering back to his childhood home realizes he’s mysteriously come back to life after dying in the Vietnam war. The world is different and newer then he remembered and while catching up he hears about these Umbrella Academy kids but more and the answers he finds only bring more questions then its worth.This is inspired by the Hozier song Like Real People Do, the seconds chapter based on Shrike with Dave still mostly getting there with help.





	1. like people do

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot thank yall enough for all the love on my other tua fics :0!!  
> Special thanks to the tua discord for helping me write this bad boy out

A cold breeze graced his face. His body jerked in response involuntary as it shuddered to life in response and his surroundings melted into reality, the orange and red leaves burning like sunlight clinging to dark brittle branches. The smell of fall came with every new inhale and a ghostly white fog came out of his mouth as he breathed out. His limbs felt asleep, or worse than asleep as they refused to cooperate even if he tried. Eyes fluttered open again and squeezed shut as the light of dawn still hurt his eyes.  
  
Slowly getting up, he noticed the dotted landscape of grey tombstones.  
  
‘Oh…. Tombstones.’ He thought as he checked the one behind him. Mind still radio static with hardly a thought pinching through.  
  
“DAVID KATZ. MAY HE REST PEACEFULLY AND WITHOUT DISTURBANCE”  
  
A laugh shakes free from his lips at the absurdity of this all and rubs his head. “That’s me, but why… what’s going on.” Glancing down at his body, he sees his military uniform with the red stain square in the center and quite briefly he hears someone scream for a medic, like distant rolling thunder. Then he finally gets up using the stone for balance. His legs still felt like cement, but he pushed on. As he staggers on, he takes note of the flowers resting next to the names of those still dead. He felt like he was in a strange dream, there was no way this was happening.  
  
Some part of him wondered if he was still lying in the infirmary and it all clicked. This really couldn’t be real, he was just unconscious in a cot recovering from that chest wound. His heart twinge at the thought of Klaus laying by him, hand held tight and unable to let go. “I’ll get back to you dear, I swear it.” He mutters out loud and keeps moving, pushing past the gates and towards town.  
  
The closer he got, the more his confusion grew. He almost thought he was in an entirely new town and not the one he grew up in with all the changes he sees. New buildings with people wearing strange styles he had never seen before with sleeker, prettier cars driving by.  
  
“Nice costume!” A teen chirps. “It’s a bit early for Halloween though isn’t it?”  
  
He looks to them with his mouth still hung a bit open. Maybe it was a really bad idea to walk in to a public space like this but… this couldn’t be real, he was still sleeping.  
  
“Uh, sure.” He says with a nod and looks about. “Where’s Deborah’s Fabrics?” he asks. The teen shrugs and sips his soda, thank god that still existed even if it looked a tad different.  
  
“Didn’t know that existed, there’s a clothes store down two streets though if you need clothes.”  
  
“That’ll do kid, thanks.” He keeps walking in that direction and stares vacantly at the changed place. Buildings he once recognized were either worn down and dead or replaced by fancier looking places. Pristine stores selling things he wasn’t too sure about. Even his kind of avid imagination couldn’t make this shit up, maybe they pumped him full of drugs as he slept? Another gust of that cold air swept over him and he shook his head. Something really was wrong.

More people gave him strange to mortified looks as he keep moving and upon arriving the bright ugly store he had never seen before. Last he recalled, this space was mostly vacant but here this place was. Picking clothes was an experience and a half. Some of the styles he recognized but others were insane. Choosing a simple of pants was horrible, there was a style of them that clung to his body too tightly, it suffocated his everything.  
Looking into the changing rooms mirror, he idly wonders where he can even begin explaining to Klaus the things he’s found in this detailed dream so far. He can almost imagine his whole troops reaction to him describing “skinny jeans”.  
  
His expression dropped, he hoped Klaus was doing fine. He missed those sweet kisses they shared and just holding each other, swaying together alone to some music or the times they laid outside away from everything and just… talked. Shaking his head, he takes what he finds most comfortable to the front and the lady at the register stares at him.  
  
“Got big plans for Halloween?” she meekly asks.  
  
“You could say that.” He answers, then sees her device flash on and notices the time… and date. His face pales. “Is that thing accurate?”  
  
“What, my phone?” She looks down at it. “The thing hasn’t lied to me yet.”  
  
“Oh. Do you know where I can get one?” Dave, scratches his jaw while staring at it.  
  
“There’s a place around the corner. Your totals 38.40.”  
  
He laughs incredulously, “Wait really? That much for the two?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Looking through his pockets he finds a mash of Vietnamese and American cash. “Would you mind taking this twenty and several dongs?”  
  
“Several what!?!”

 

Finding a bathroom in a gas station around the corner, he changes into his new set of clothes. Everything was much more fitting then he was comfortable with, but he didn’t mind too much. Anything was better then his current military uniform. Taking off his shirt, his breath stopped short in his throat as his eyes landed square on his chest. It was a storm of pale scarring, something that looked too lethal for him to survive. Yet the only memory he had of getting it was….  
  
Was….  
  
His stomach curdled as the other shoe dropped in his head. As it all became clear he heaved the contents of his stomach into the toilet. He gripped the sides with bone white knuckles as his mind raced. Klaus was probably dead, along with everyone he knew. He still wasn’t sure how he woke up in a cemetery, did he really come back? But why?  
  
Nothing made sense. Nothing made any goddamn sense and the more he tried piecing it all together there still were too many blanks to the equation. He raked his fingers over his hair, trying to ground himself.  
So this was no dream. It couldn’t be. Bundling up his old clothes and flushing the toilet he leaves in a daze.  
  
“You alright bud?” Some guy asks. He looks back a bit blankly. His mouth closes, then opens again.  
  
“It’s 2019 right?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Then what’s… what happened since.” He rubs his elbow, there was a lump in his throat. “Could you give me a brief overview of what’s happened since the sixties?”  
  
There was a pause as they just look at each other, some faint music he’s never heard before is playing in the store. Then the man bursts into peals of laughter. “Shit! A lot’s happened since the sixties. What do I look like to you, a historian?”  
  
Dave’s face reddens and he laughs nervously with him. For a second, he realizes he’s too close to being labeled as crazy and getting the cops called on him and he shrugs.  
  
“Fair… I just lost track of time I guess.”  
  
“That’s a lot of time to lose track of, do you want a pop on me? You still look frazzled.”  
  
He nods and accepts the drink with shaking hands. Cracking it open, he takes a slow sip as he comes up with some excuse. “It’s because I am. I uh… I think I hit my head between home and here is all.”  
  
“I get that.” The cashier says as he opens his own drink. “You could use the library in town if you really are looking for answers, but I would suggest checking with a hospital first.”  
Dave nods and takes another drink. “This tastes different, when did they change the this colas recipe?”  
  
“No. Fucking. Idea.” They say with a chuckle and sip of their own pop. 

Dave leaves with his pop in hand and wanders town with a newer perspective. These people didn’t exist when he was alive, their parents probably didn’t even exist when Dave was in Vietnam. The thought alone made his stomach twist itself in knots once more, so he brushed it away.  
  
Finally tracking down a library he scoured for every book he could find. The rest of the day was a blur of all this information, this catching up he wanted to take. When the books were no longer enough for him, he turned to slowly learning to use the computers. He felt like a caveman, hunched over the keyboard and jabbing each key. The videos amazed him, the clear sound of people talking about events astounded him. In seconds he could find another database of articles surrounding whatever he wanted to learn about, whenever.  
  
Then, a documentary catches his eye. He sees it suggested to him because he was reading about whatever movie adaptations of comics he read as a kid but this comic series appeared much after he fought and well… died. There was no more pop to keep him awake and feeling the cool plastic of the keyboard conks him out. An old man appears to be interviewed by a stockier woman with a clipboard.  
  
“So these children-“  
  
“Adopted children, yes.”  
  
“They all have superpowers?”  
  
“Every one of them, One through Six.”  
  
Dave flicks through to other videos going in depth. He keeps seeing one kid in the background who’s dark rimmed eyes and dark hair looked familiar. The media surrounding the family was incredibly positive because how fantastic did it sound to have a family of kids with powers, actual powers. Dave was cynical about it until he saw footage of them actually using their abilities.  
  
No actual names except the fathers pop up, and that’s when he realizes why the kids so familiar.  
  
Klaus Hargreeves.  
  
His mouth goes slack. So this kid grew up to be the man he fell for in Vietnam? Or maybe this was a grandchild of his or something. He couldn’t recall the Klaus really having powers like these children.  
  
As he looks into media of them getting older, some of the tabloids were the first to peer a light into the cracks of this family. Number two, or Diego getting caught by police for breaking and entering. Klaus thrown in juvie for underage drinking.  
  
Then bigger newspapers started to cover them, showing more infighting and more trouble with government until the feeding frenzy of drama died with every child that left, died or straight up vanished. Bile crept into his throat as he watched through the broken lens of articles and videos this family fall apart. His eyes stared blankly at the screen, distraught.  
  
“Sir?”  
  
Dave heaves a sigh as he awakens and looks over. A librarian wearing a shirt with the print of a cartoon character is standing next to him, a clear face full of concern on her. “Sir, we’re about to close in twenty minutes.”  
  
He nods and smacks his lips as he runs another hand through his hair. “Sorry, I got carried away.” **  
  
**“That’s fine.” She says. “I would’ve let you keep researching if it wasn’t for the closing time.”  
  
Dave gets up and stretches, feeling every pop and crackle of his back. “Thanks, what time is it now?”  
  
“Almost nine.”  
  
Damn, so not only has he spent most of the day reading every god damn thing he’s gotten his hands on, but he’s missed several meals because of it.  
  
Heading back out into the cold night, he sits down on the bench. In all honesty, there was nothing here. Back when he was with Klaus, they talked about plans of moving somewhere sweet. Klaus talked about using his briefcase to get out and go home but he never knew what he meant by that. His heart ached, what else could he do now that everything was ripped away from him again. Besides, this town felt too different then when he last remembered, he could barely call the place home. 

**Fuck it, guess there’s no better place to start then to find this Umbrella Academy. As long as it's anywhere but here.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave meets the three friends (or sisters? hes unsure) and they meet him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so this took longer then i thought. i kind of burned myself out on hozier so i needed the break.  
> There might be an epilogue bc i focused hardcore on Dave this whole fic but Comments/Kudos will certainly get my ass into gear and produce one.

The gas station was poorly lit for this time of evening. Some lights flickered while others were completely put out, giving the place an even sketchier look but regardless there was still people refilling gas. Dave shuffled past a better-looking truck. It was a dark grey and looked stuffed to the gills with bags and blankets. Paying more attention to it, he could see two people sleeping inside, one in the passenger’s seat and the other behind them. They looked like they were halfway through some roadtrip. How the hell was he supposed to reach this Umbrella Academy anyways? Hitching a ride was his best bet bu-  
A fake cough pulls him out of his train of thought. 

“Looking for something?” A woman with a thick build and short hair says as she crosses her arms.  
His jaw goes slack. Shit, shit, FUCK. “uh, hi.” He says bashfully. “I was looking to ask if I could hitch a ride? I can pay for gas.” Dave adds the last with a nod. She looks at the price and his gaze follows it as well. 

Wait… TWO DOLLARS FOR A GALLON?! 

As he gawks at the price, a familiar click signals that the machine feeding her car is done and she puts the hose back. “Sure, we’re heading to New York if that’s where you wanted.” There’s an awkward beat as he’s still comprehending the stark jump in price but he snaps back to reality.  
“Yes…. That works.” He says, fishing his pockets for the ratty thing he called a wallet. It was merely a flimsy bit of Thai silk that was sewn into a two old with money tucked in it along with some pictures of home. The edge of a ripped old photo catches his eye but he just hands her all he has, since it wasn’t much, and she counts it.  
“… Is this all you have?” She gives him a quizzical look and an embarrassed blush graces his cheeks.  
“is it… not enough?”  
“Nope but if you’re this broke, I’m not gonna bankrupt you. Ya feel me?” She hands half of the sum back.  
Huh, never heard that turn of phrase. “Sure. Thank you so much.”  
“No problem.” She says, “do you have any stuff to toss in the back?”  
“N-no. Just me.” He gives a sympathetic shrug and there’s a look in her eye he can’t quite place.  
She keeps this look for a second longer then he’d like but she laughs, startling him.  
“Ha, where’s my manners? My names Cassie. What’s yours?” She holds out her hand.  
“…. Dave….” He answers. When his hand connects to hers in a handshake he sucks in a breath. The hairs on the back of his neck raise and goosebumps spread all over his body. The hand was warm, but it felt like touching the edge of a furious current of water. Pulling away, he looked into her eyes with an odd look as she stared back with a plain expression. Was it just him? He hasn’t eaten in a while… or slept properly….

Now that he thought about it, he was just bone tired. 

“There’s two other girls in the car, their names are Alexandria and Jenna. They’re really nice but Alex is lowkey a nutjob so don’t expect too much from her.” A chuckle bubbles from her lips. Dave nods slowly and Cassie opens the door. “Hey, wake up assholes we got a hitchhiker now.”  
One woman spread across the first row of seats looks up. Her hair is blonde with red highlights and heavy makeup caked on her face.  
“Heyyy” she greets in this nasally voice.  
The other was sitting in shotgun and what first hit him was how thin she was. She looked vacuum sealed without any fat on her body and the thick black hair that she kept bunched in a messy bun.  
“Hi,” she greets with as much energy as the other. Dave gives a clipped “hi” and thanks Cassie again for the ride as he sits behind the blonde. He too, stretches his legs over the seats and finds a pillow to rest against his back to cushion it against the hard-plastic wall of the car. As he watches Cassie head into the store, the blondes head peaks over the chair at him. 

“So… Dave huh?” She says, eyes scanning his whole body. He kept his demeanor calm even though he wanted to shrink away from her cold grey eyes.  
“Yeah…. Your Alexiandria right?” He replies.  
“Yeah but you can call me Alex.” She gives him a wink and he grimaces.  
“Cool….” He says and there’s an awkward pause. 

“Where are you from?” She asks.  
“From here.” It’s hard maintaining eyecontact as staring too long into her eyes fills him with more unease.  
“Ah, small town kinda guy. That’s pretty cute!” She giggles and it almost sounds exaggerated. “Why are you leaving though.”  
“I… uh….” As he scrambles to piece together an answer. Jenna speaks up.  
“Lex, don’t start harassing our guest.” She warns. Alex, not wanting to be cowed into stopping, ignores her.  
“Did your parents kick you out? Did your house burn down? Did you-“  
“I wanted to visit a friend in New York….” Dave starts. “He moved there a while back and I wanted to visit.” His eyes scan hers and she seems to digest the information he gives.  
Satisfied with the little story, she gives him a quick “cute.” And turns back around.

A relieved sigh escapes his nose and he sags against his chair, mind wandering back to Klaus. His heart twinged in pain, yearning for him. Those wide expressive eyes staring back at him in his memories. The shy grin Klaus offered when Dave introduced himself to him. Dave wrapped his arms tightly around himself and he fidgeted with a nail as he contemplated what he would do once he saw his boyfriend again.  
Wait, did they even talk about being a couple?  
He recalled some validation that they were, but the conversation was a haze from the drugs and booze they gulped down. There were several conversations that were in the same haze now that he thought about it but who cares. With all the fighting and brutality they witnessed it was a decent crutch.  
His hand wanders to his collarbone, digging for something familiar to touch but calloused fingers found nothing but skin. Confusion graced his features and he looked down at his chest. 

Where did his dog tags go?

The door swings open and somethings tossed in his face. He sputters and looks at the rolled up something in his lap. “What-?” He starts to say.  
“It’s some food bud,” Cassie answers as she tosses the same to the other two. “Help yourself to some snacks we have in the back as well if you want. We won’t be stopping for a while.”  
“Oh… Thanks!” He says with a small smile. She smiles back and gets into the drivers seat. 

The car starts and they drive off without a hitch. As he watches the buildings of the old town melt away to open land, he bites on his sandwich pensively. It felt off putting. In a way, the new world looked the same but also different. Cows and horses were familiar and comforting, as odd as that sounded but the shinier, smoother cars looked like those old futuristic posters come to life. Even the moon felt the same as it climbed up the sky. There was an odd comfort knowing the moon he was staring at was the same one him and Klaus looked up together as they laid entwined on the jungle floor. He remembered hearing the others heartbeat and the humming of some tune he couldn’t catch the name of. The humidity clung to both their skin like a second sheen of sweat and made Klaus’s hair a tad more wilder.  
The sandwich sat comfortably in his stomach and from both the gentle humming of the car and the fatigue of his own limbs, he felt himself nod off to sleep. 

It wasn’t the car stopping in a motel parking lot that woke him, or the silent bicker of the three girls as they argued to leave him in the car while they rented a room to sleep in.  
No. It was the sound of gunfire and screams of agony that haunted him. He bolts upright and smacks his head into the ceiling, halting the others fight. He struggled to get a hand on his frantic breathing and he shudders at the bead of sweat racing down his spine. He jumps when a cool hand touches his arm and his wild eyes flick to her.  
“Ugh.” He rasps as his mouth refused to function right. Cassie looked back at him with a tinge of pity. Her hand travels to his shoulders and rubs circles as he tries to cease his heart drumming furiously away. The broad hand grounds him and eventually he sags back on himself.  
“…. Thanks.” He says quietly.  
She snorts. “Don’t mention it, I’m just sorry you have to put up with this.”  
He nods numbly and sees the two other sets of eyes watching him.  
“Do you want a water?” One offers. Jenna, he recalls.  
He nods again and she hands a bottle over to Alex to pass to him. There’s an awkward silence as he cracks open the clear plastic bottle and guzzles it down like a parched stray dog. A drop escapes past his lips and trails down his jaw. He coughs as some nearly get in his lungs. “Thanks again,” he says weakly.  
“No problem” Jenna replies, her grin flashing in the dim car. 

“Do you want to sleep in the motel or stay in the car?” Alex asks, ignoring Jenna’s eyeroll.  
Maybe it was the paranoia creeping in, its whispering in the back of his head of all the people he’d meet in there that would want him dead but he shook his head. “I like it here better.” 

Alex growls to herself and turns back to the front. “You can go in and rent a room yourself if you want.” Cassie replies to Alex in a stern voice, a firm warning. “Though if you don’t wake up and get back to the car in time, we will leave your ass there.” Alex huffs back and curls in her chair. 

“She always wants to be right.” Jenna quietly explains to Dave, which makes his face scrunch up.  
“But…. Why?” he asks.  
“That’s just how she functions.”  
With that in mind, he checks the clock and sighs as it changes to midnight.  
“I have some stuff that can help you sleep the rest of the night if you want.” Cassie says, catching his train of thought.  
“and that would be?” he asks. 

She rummages through the first aid kit and pulls out a bottle of some fluid. “this is meant for if you get sick but it will put you out like a light.” Opening the bottle, she pours a small amount and hands it to him. He looks at the tiny plastic cup, hearing the back of his mind telling him that alcohol would’ve been more trustworthy then strange fluids but he downs it anyways. If they wanted to kill him, they would’ve done so already when he first passed out, but the nagging thought still persisted to his irritation.  
Satisfied, she goes to the front of the van and takes out a pillow of her own to rest her head against. 

It didn’t take long for him to pass out. When he woke up again it felt like he didn’t sleep at all, just the flash forward in time to seeing the car was now moving and that the sun was starting to rise again. Uneasiness gripped his stomach as he scanned his surroundings. Jenna was still curled up in the front, still sleeping and Alex was rolled up like a burrito in her gaudy blankets. Cassie was at the wheel of course and there was the soft sound of radio music filling the silence of the car.  
“Looks like you slept well.” Cassie comments, her piercing eyes glancing at him in the rearview mirror.  
“uh… yeah.” He murmurs, running a hand through his thoroughly disheveled hair. “What was that?”  
“Benadryl.” She answers. “It does its job most of the time.”  
“oh.” 

 

There’s more driving and another day passes without much drama. Jenna and Alex bicker until Cassie offers a distraction in the form of food or games. They’re dynamic amuses Dave to no end. Throughout the car ride, he switches between sleeping (or trying to) and staring out the window. When his eyes gaze outside, his mind wanders back to Klaus, to the present, his anxieties about being in the present, Klaus again, and the general confusion surrounding his circumstances. Did he really die? His last memories before waking up still haunted his mind when he slept, as it felt very much like he did die, but how did he get here, in the future?  
When he felt the headache building, he went back to napping. 

The car stops again and two of the three girls get out to stretch their legs. Figuring he'd do the same, he gets up with a stretch and heads out. Cool winds brush his face, making him smile. Cassie said they were just an hour out from New York and the excitement of finally seeing his love again made him want to jump excitedly. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Cassie stroll up to him, pulling out a a cigarette. Just as she's ready to light it, she catches his look. "No, you're not bumming one off me. These are bad for you, ya hear?"  
That was certainly news to him, and if she were either of the two other women he would've persisted but Cassie always had this frightful aura. 

Exhaling the newly lit cig with a sigh, she looks back at him. "It's hard. Adjusting to this." She finally says.  
"The trip you mean? Because I've actually enjoyed the company-" Cassie starts waving her hand in irritation, silencing him.  
"No, no no. I mean adjusting to life after war." 

He freezes up. "I... How-"  
She laughs, "I know a vet when I see one. I can always tell." 

A silence blankets them both and while she seems fine with it, Dave's head is buzzing.  
"I'm just sorry it had to be you." She drawls, taking another inhale. "But war leaves no one untouched except the fat cats that start them." 

That he agrees with quietly.  
"Besides," she continues, "everyone's fighting their own battles, trauma or no." With her free hand, she gestures at Jenna sitting with Alex and watching the blonde make quick work of the two tacos she bought. "She's fighting a new sickness. Anorexia I think. Poor bitch can't drink water without worrying if it will make her gain a pound. She's part of the reason we took this semi-vacation. Her sick ass and Captain Egomaniac over there." She points at Alex. "Now she can't seem to let anything go, and at first it was driving a wedge between all three of us. but she's been getting better, they both have."

"What about you?" He turns to her. 

Her face falters for a second. She hand reaches for another but it retreat ashamedly. "Same as you I suppose, my hell has been the constant madness of this world and worst of all, my addiction to it consuming my entire self. It almost makes me wonder what better purpose do I even have." She gives a dry laugh and crosses her arms. "And how do I take a vacation from my hellish job? babysit two headaches as we travel across this country, bringing myself a steady dose of conflict with me." 

Sensing her friends mood, she drops the cigarette and crushes it under her foot. "So... Who's this special friend your visiting?"

He picks at his own hand but the want to tell her relents. "Klaus..... His names Klaus and we.... We were really close."  
The name seems to grab more of her attention. "Oh yeah? What's so special about him?"  
"Well, I love him and he loved me," he starts. "He was sweet and funny, beautiful... and quite frankly perfect in every way." Perfect for him that was. The other men couldn't stand his odd mannerisms. The ramblings, his giggle, and the sass he had. 

"Huh. He sounds less like a friend to me and more like something else entirely." She snorts, "but that's none of my business isn't it."

"Yeah...." Dave rubs at the back of his neck. 

The two girls get back and they all climb aboard without much fuss. At least thirty minutes later, Cassie looks at him in the rearview mirror.  
"So where are we dropping you off hon?" 

Dave's eyes are glued to the towering buildings. Right... Where did Klaus live? If he recalled, his family was a bit famous... so maybe he could start with their home-place? "It's where that Umbrella Academy is." 

"AH. Gotcha," with that, Cassie hands the map to Jenna and Jenna reads off directions for the driver. 

 

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Alex says, eyes beaming back at him. It catches him off guard as he oddly feels compelled to just scrap the destination.  
But that's what she wanted, not him.  
"I need to see Klaus." he says a bit firmly. "You can come visit later if you want though...."  
She shakes her head. "We don't do visiting. besides, we are missing our fourth rider."  
That makes Jenna fake cough and glance over at Alex with a dark look. "What?? I'm not wrong am I?" Alex whines, "he'd be a perfect fit. Not just because he gets along but also since he did die-"  
"Alexandria drop it right now!" Cassie barks.  
"You're not even listening!"  
"What did I say?" 

Alex's mouth hangs open, ready to yell louder, but sees that the car is parked outside the manor. Her expression changes as she wrestles with herself internally. Looking at Jennas pleading face, she just huffs and looks away. "You're right," she concedes in a hushed voice. "We're here anyways." 

Dave doesn't know what to make of the odd conversation and instead looks out the window. The place looked nicer then he expected, it was hard imagining little Klaus living in that home.  
Unless it was an orphanage. Knowing Klaus it likely was.

They all pile out of the car to take turns giving Dave a warm hug and a proper good-bye. Alex was the first, apologizing for being "a butthead" and giving him the tightest hug of the three.  
Second was Jenny, who was a bit wary of of touching him (and him likewise just as wary, worried he would break her in half if they hugged). To his surprise she does so anyways, burying her face into his chest and sighing. He noted she was little less frail then when he first saw her and that gave him a funny sense of pride. 

The two who hugged already hopped in, leaving just him and the stout woman. "We're all gonna miss you." She says, a sad smile on her lips.  
"I know." He replies back, arms open. Cassie laughs and gives him a warm hug and for a second he almost smells gunpowder.  
"Don't get yourself killed.... Again, ya hear?"  
"I'll try not to." He jokes back.  
"And treat Klaus and yourself good." She adds as she pulls back.  
Dave laughs again and rubs his neck. "Of course I will. I miss him like hell." 

A silence hangs between them and they turn away from each other, him to the manor and her to the car. As he knocks, he hears the car rev up and for a second hears horses bellow louder then possible. Snapping back at the source behind him, he sees three ghastly horses rear up mid-bellowing. The closest to the car is an emaciated and sickly looking beast with puss running freely from its eyes like it was sobbing, the second was gaudy and emblazoned with reins of gold and a beautiful saddle. Leading the two was a dark mare with burning coals for eyes and skin that looked soaked with blood. In a flash, the horses sprinted down the street and into... Nothing. He merely blinked and suddenly they had vanished. No one even seemed phased by the strange of a van being pulled by those monstrous horses. 

Jaw hanging loose, he turns back to the door and knocked. Another moment passes and he knocks again, then again.  
As he kept waiting, he started to feel like a total fool. Doubt and anxiety started making him pace in the doorway as his mind began beating himself up.  
'Idiot, what did you expect of this? This shot in the dark was not only a huge waste of time but its left you stranded in a big city. You've always hated big cities too! So why the hell-'  
Rubbing his face with a groan, he walks away from the door and focuses on not spiraling any further into the mess that was his mind currently. 

He takes two steps down the stairs when the sound of the door creaks open and he freezes in place, train of thought now barren. 

A voice speaks up, so familiar and in shock his eyes widen and his heart swells. 

"Dave?"

**Author's Note:**

> This one feels a bit unfocused so i might trim it up.


End file.
